The story's theme is spiritualism, viewed through the lens of past-life regression. Floriano Ferraz is a skeptical sculptor tormented by severe shoulder pain and visions of a woman dying at his feet. Exhausted, and encouraged by his master and friend, the craftsman Quirino, he seeks the help of psychiatrist Ulisses. Through regression techniques, he discovers that in 1880, in the city of Petrópolis, in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, he was Lieutenant Belmiro, in love with the young Valentina. The young woman, married to an older man, is seriously injured while trying to flee with her beloved. After suffering a sword blow, she loses her balance and falls from the third floor of a mansion, at Belmiro's feet. Before dying, however, Valentina arranges a meeting with the lieutenant in the future. The experience completely transforms Floriano's life, and he decides to abandon everything, including his girlfriend Antônia, to pursue his past.